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U.S.

Woman allegedly tries to have someone she met on Facebook kill family

Associated Press
Published | Updated

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. – Authorities in central Alabama have arrested a 19-year-old woman they say tried to have someone she met on Facebook kill her family.

But the person she was talking to over the social media site was actually her aunt.

Al.com reports that Marissa Williams was arrested Monday and charged with solicitation of murder. She was being held in the Tuscaloosa County jail on $30,000 bond. It wasn't immediately clear if she had a lawyer.

Williams had been living with her aunt in Fosters, Alabama, since April and their relationship had become strained because Williams would invite strangers she met online to the house, court records filed Tuesday show. When her aunt asked her to stop doing that, Williams blocked her aunt from seeing her activity on Facebook.

Williams' aunt told investigators she created a new Facebook profile for a fake man she called Tre "Topdog" Ellis that she could use to connect with her niece and chat with her online. The aunt told authorities she hoped to get an idea of her niece's online activity and also wanted to teach Williams the potential dangers of meeting strangers online.

Williams began chatting with the fictional man, not knowing it was her aunt. She gave the fictional man her phone number and address, asked him to come over and get drunk with her and offered to have sex with him if he'd pay her $50 cell phone bill, according to court documents.

A few days later, Williams told the fictional man her family angered her and that she wanted to leave Alabama, according to court documents. Williams' aunt told investigators her niece then asked the man to come take her away and to shoot her aunt if she tried to stop him.

The plans got more detailed with Williams telling the fictional man how to get into her aunt's bedroom so he could kill her fiancΘ first and asking him to shoot her cousin and the dog on the way out.

The aunt called the Tuscaloosa County Sheriff's Office for help after reading the plans.

When she was interviewed by deputies, Williams admitted to the plot but said she didn't really mean for anyone to be killed.